ABC restructuring cuts – benefits still hypothetical

Friday 10 Mar 2017

A
Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic says it's clear television and radio
will lose out further to digital online platforms in the latest round of restructuring
at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"ABC
Managing Director Ms Michelle Guthrie is determined to capture and keep
audiences who are shifting from traditional platforms to new digital ones," Ms
Nankervis said. "It was the change she was hired to make, and that is primarily
what this week's job cuts are about.

"We
won't know exactly how the axing of 200 mostly Sydney-based jobs announced by
the national broadcaster will benefit the ABC's digital space until programming
and content changes are made.

"But
Ms Guthrie says the savings will go into a fund for developing new digital
content. So we can expect fewer resources for radio and TV programming unless
the money is spent on wedding them even more closely to new digital,
interactive, and social media platforms.

"Radio
and television appear to be in ABC management's sights. Ms Guthrie confirmed in
a media interview yesterday that all ABC programming is up for review – and
this could mean some old established favourites going by the wayside or being
radically pruned.

"So
while the ABC is presenting its job cuts as a pruning of excess middle
management, a third of the positions being axed appear to be people who make
programs, including technical and camera staff.
Many of those programs people were told on Monday and Tuesday that they
are being made redundant.

"One
ABC staffer has told former ABC colleagues that the entire field camera
department, which films vision and records sound for programs including Landline and Gardening Australia, were made redundant this week. Staff say they
have no idea who is going to shoot and catch sound for these programs now.

"Michelle
Guthrie on Tuesday also promised to create 80 new ABC jobs in the regions, roughly
the same number of positions axed from program staffing on Tuesday. But what
that means for regional content and services won't be clear until those new
positions are implemented and we can see what the additional ABC people in
rural centres will be doing."

Ms
Nankervis noted that regional programming was restructured recently in the
final phase of then-Managing Director Mr Mark Scott's tenure.

"This
restructure saw the closure of some regional stations and the creation of a 'Regional'
division in the ABC, with many of those staff based in Ultimo in the centre of
Sydney.

"So
a shift to take jobs out of capital cities and into the regions could in some
part reverse what happened under Mark Scott," Ms Nankervis said.

"These
new regional jobs will create online digital content rather than radio or
television, and this digital content in many cases will not make it to radio
airwaves or television screens. So it will take some time to be able to measure
whether ABC services to regional areas will be improved by changes announced
this week and those implemented under Mark Scott.

"I
hope that the people creating that new content in their new jobs in the regions
will get away from their screens and head out to the people and places they're
representing. If they stay in their chairs doing digital searches for content,
then there's not much point moving people back from the city to the country to
cover the regions."

Ms
Nankervis also said ABC staff morale is reportedly very low and staff are
aggrieved.

"When
the ABC under Mark Scott announced 400 job cuts from news and current
affairs not long ago, the organisation was criticised for the callous way it
determined who should leave; staff had to apply to stay and list their skills.
Some staff left immediately in protest at the process.

"It
would seem staff are again offended by the way they are being shed, and by how
their job losses are being explained to the public. When you say you're not
cutting programs just middle management' it sounds like you're talking about
people who haven't been pulling their weight or won't be missed.

"After this round of redundancies it'll be clear as
the restructure filters through to programming and content that some talent and
expertise has gone from the ABC - and is no longer wanted," Ms Nankervis said.